thankyou co-founder Daniel Flynn on big ideas, mentorship and purpose-driven culture
11/02/22 • 31 min
You’ve got big ideas... Big dreams for your company... Maybe even for the world! But how do you keep those big dreams and ideas alive on a day-to-day basis?
Daniel Flynn knows a thing or two about keeping big ideas alive. He founded thankyou with hopes of ending poverty, and they’re still making moves on this front, more than a decade on. And Daniel says the key is to make time and space for big-picture thinking, even when it feels like your workload wants you to do otherwise.
Daniel sets aside one day a week for what he calls “blue-sky thinking”, and he protects it like nothing else. No emails, no texts, no slack messages; nothing but his imagination.
He also shares what he’s learned from his most influential mentors over the years, and how thankyou adapted its famously social work culture after the company went fully remote.
Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn or the thankyou website
***
My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.
Connect with me on the socials:
If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at [email protected]
CREDITS
Produced by Inventium
Host: Amantha Imber
Production Support from Deadset Studios
Episode Producer: Liam Riordan
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You’ve got big ideas... Big dreams for your company... Maybe even for the world! But how do you keep those big dreams and ideas alive on a day-to-day basis?
Daniel Flynn knows a thing or two about keeping big ideas alive. He founded thankyou with hopes of ending poverty, and they’re still making moves on this front, more than a decade on. And Daniel says the key is to make time and space for big-picture thinking, even when it feels like your workload wants you to do otherwise.
Daniel sets aside one day a week for what he calls “blue-sky thinking”, and he protects it like nothing else. No emails, no texts, no slack messages; nothing but his imagination.
He also shares what he’s learned from his most influential mentors over the years, and how thankyou adapted its famously social work culture after the company went fully remote.
Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn or the thankyou website
***
My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.
Connect with me on the socials:
If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at [email protected]
CREDITS
Produced by Inventium
Host: Amantha Imber
Production Support from Deadset Studios
Episode Producer: Liam Riordan
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Previous Episode
My Favourite Tip: Anthony Zaccaria - Start your workweek in a flow state
What do your Mondays look like? Or more importantly, what do they feel like?
You might be demolishing your to-do list and running meeting after meeting, but do you feel energised? Do you feel enthusiastic about what you’re doing?
If you don’t, it probably doesn’t matter how many items get ticked off your list, because you’re going to run out of steam before you get the meaningful work done. So, what’s the solution?
Anthony Zaccaria’s Mondays are sacred - he’s wary of “busy work”, and sets aside Monday mornings for deep work, knowing that it could well be his only opportunity before the week kicks into high gear for everyone else.
And when it comes time to focus, Anthony’s simple rituals ensure he can drop into a flow state at a moment’s notice.
Connect with Anthony on Twitter or Linktree
You can find the full interview here: Linktree co-founder Anthony Zaccaria on unicorn status, managing growth and conscious parenting
***
My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.
Connect with me on the socials:
If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at [email protected]
CREDITS
Produced by Inventium
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber
Next Episode
My Favourite Tip - Laura Mae Martin: Zero-based calendaring
Do you need to reset?
Whether you’re starting at a new company, starting a new position, or just starting a new season in your work-life, an effective reset is the key to hitting the ground running at a new, more efficient pace.
For the execs at Google, this is absolutely critical - that’s why they listen to Laura Mae Martin, Google’s Executive Productivity Advisor. Step one: don’t just do what you did last time!
When it’s time to reset her calendar, Laura employs a “zero-based” approach, one that’s common in budgeting, but should be more common in calendaring. Instead of just repeating what she did last year, last season or last week, Laura starts from scratch - from zero - and assesses each new opportunity, task and meeting with fresh eyes.
Instead of saying, “this is how we’ve done it”, Laura wants you to ask, “is this what I need to do this time?”
Connect with Laura on YouTube or the Google Keyword blog
You can find the full interview here: Productivity expert Laura Mae Martin helps you “spring clean” your work habits before returning to the office
***
My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.
Connect with me on the socials:
If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co
Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at [email protected]
CREDITS
Produced by Inventium
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber
How I Work - thankyou co-founder Daniel Flynn on big ideas, mentorship and purpose-driven culture
Transcript
Daniel Flynn doesn't see the world the same way most people do. Sure, he's as sickened as anyone else by the amount of plastic water bottles we buy as consumers, But instead of bemoaning that fact or even trying to stop it from happening, he decided to leave Ridget for good.
Speaker 1As the co founder of thank You, He's on a mission to make products that will end poverty, to direct our consumerist habi
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